The Hanover Insurance Group’s (THG) “Market Outperform” Rating Reaffirmed at JMP Securities

JMP Securities reiterated their market outperform rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $160.00 target price on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $147.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, The Hanover Insurance Group has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $160.20.

The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of THG stock opened at $149.71 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $142.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.63. The Hanover Insurance Group has a 52-week low of $112.22 and a 52-week high of $151.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.57 and a beta of 0.69.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.88. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 12.42% and a net margin of 4.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($1.91) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Hanover Insurance Group will post 10.99 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The Hanover Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Warren E. Barnes sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.25, for a total transaction of $69,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,013 shares in the company, valued at $416,547.25. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Richard W. Lavey sold 8,468 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.01, for a total value of $1,219,476.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,224,826.81. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Warren E. Barnes sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.25, for a total value of $69,125.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,013 shares in the company, valued at $416,547.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,303 shares of company stock worth $2,511,243. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Congress Asset Management Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 29,206 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,546,000 after buying an additional 9,327 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 149.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 417,767 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $50,725,000 after buying an additional 250,254 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,623,766 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $439,998,000 after acquiring an additional 13,030 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the 4th quarter worth $247,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.

About The Hanover Insurance Group

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides various property and casualty insurance products and services in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Core Commercial, Specialty, Personal Lines, and Other. The Commercial Lines segment offers commercial multiple peril, commercial automobile, workers' compensation, and other commercial lines coverage.